In remote northern Philippines, this Indigenous community gets power from the river - CSMonitor.com

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Asia Pacific

In remote northern Philippines, a local solution to the global energy shock

Mark Saludes

Local, renewable, and reliable electrical power appears in an aerial view of Sitio Lapat in Apayao province, north of Manila, where the Indigenous community has built a small-scale hydroelectric system that provides power to local residents.

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By Mark Saludes<br>Contributor

May 11, 2026, 1:49 p.m. ET

Apayao province, Philippines

In a mountain village in the northern Philippines, electricity does not arrive through transmission lines or come from burning imported fossil fuel. It flows from a local river.<br>Each night, as lights flicker on inside scattered homes, the power is generated by a small turbine turning steadily in the dark – built, maintained, and managed by the community itself.<br>“We don’t have to rely on outside power facilities. We decide when to switch it on and off,” says Rodolfo Sagban, chairman of the Lapat Micro Hydro Power Association in Nabuangan village, located in Apayao province. “Most importantly, everyone in the village can access it, regardless of economic status.”

Why We Wrote This

The Philippines is heavily dependent on imported energy from the Middle East. But this remote Indigenous community in the northern part of the country has spent years building its own energy system, uncoupled from imported fuel. Instead, it runs on water, gravity, and cooperation.

The Iran war that began in late February has drawn attention to the Philippines’ fragile, import-dependent economy, as electricity costs, transport fares, and even food prices continue to climb. Roughly 3.6 million households across the Philippines live off the electrical grid – including about 1.2 million that rely on government-run, diesel-fueled power plants. These households have been hit especially hard by the global energy shock.<br>But in Nabuangan, these big-picture pressures barely register. Decentralized, renewable-based systems such as the one built here are shielding some communities from energy price spikes and grid instability – and they could offer a way to strengthen the country’s overall energy resilience.<br>“The real solutions are already here: community-led, small-scale energy systems that live in harmony with nature,” says Joan Carling, a co-founder of Indigenous Peoples Rights International.

Mark Saludes

Rodolfo Sagban stands inside a newly built micro-hydro facility in Nabuangan village.

Building power, one stream at a time<br>Nabuangan’s first micro-hydro system – a simple, streamside structure – began operating in 2002. Water is diverted into a narrow intake and collected in a small reservoir. From there, it flows quietly through a long pipe that slopes downhill. Gravity creates enough water pressure to spin a small turbine inside a concrete enclosure. Power lines carry the electricity to homes across the village.

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Over time, the system has expanded to two other villages in the area, Bubog and Sitio Simud. A fourth facility is under construction to provide electricity to Sitio Lapat, and is expected to be operational within a few months.<br>Together, these water-powered energy stations form a small but stable network.<br>“If other villages want a micro-hydro, we will teach them,” says Mr. Sagban. “We will teach them how to manage it because management is what’s important.”<br>Community members contribute labor to build and maintain the local systems. Decisions are made collectively. The forest that feeds the river is protected, because it is essential to the system’s survival.

Mark Saludes

Faith Joy Bonifacio runs a community internet hub in Sitio Lapat, powered by micro-hydro at night and solar panels by day, which helps residents access mobile services and stay connected despite the village’s remote location.

Faith Joy Bonifacio, a resident of Sitio Lapat who has worked overseas as a contractor, runs a small internet hub powered by the village’s micro-hydro system and solar panels. The setup allows locals to charge personal devices, access all kinds of information, and stay connected without leaving the village.

“We don’t have a mobile signal here,” she says. In the past, “we had to climb mountains just to send a message.”

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